Duleep Singh

Duleep Singh (6 September 1838-22 October 1893) was Maharajah of the Sikh Empire from 15 September 1843 to 29 March 1849, succeeding Sher Singh.

Biography
Duleep Singh was born in Lahore, Sikh Empire (now in Punjab, Pakistan) on 6 September 1838, the son of Ranjit Singh and Jana Kaur. His father died in 1839, and he became Maharajah at the age of five in 1843, with his mother serving as regent. In 1845, the British declared war on the Sikhs and won the war, establishing a Council of Regency to govern Duleep and exiling his mother (whom Duleep would not see for another thirteen years). In 1849, following the Second Anglo-Sikh War, the British Empire annexed the Punjab, and Duleep was raised by retainers in the British fashion; in 1883, he converted to Anglicanism. In 1854, he arrived in England, and Queen Victoria and Prince Albert showered affection upon him. From 1854 to 1855, he toured Europe, and his now-blind mother joined him in England in 1861. In 1863, he purchased an estate near Thetford, turning the estate into a game reserve and becoming the fourth-best shot in England. In 1886, he decided to return to British India and convert to Sikhism, but he was arrested in Aden and sent back to England. He died in Paris in 1893 at the age of 55, having only briefly visited India twice after the age of 15 (in 1860 to bring his mother to England, and in 1863 for her cremation).